Los Angeles County Department of Health ServicesPublic Health Programs and ServicesTuberculosis Control Program2000 Fact SheetTuberculosis Among the Foreign Born

In 2000, 16,372 cases of TB were reported in the United States. This represents a 6.6% decrease from 1999 (17,531 cases). There has been a steady increase in foreign born-cases in the United States since the mid-1980s. Tuberculosis case rates among the foreign born are consistently higher than US-born persons. 1

In 2000, 3,295 cases of TB were reported in California. This represents a 8.7% decrease from1999 (3,608 cases). Of these 3,295 cases, 2,377 (72.1%) were foreign born. These 2,377 cases represent a 5.6% decrease in the number of foreign-born cases since 1999 (2,519). The foreign-born TB case load in California is more than two times the US-born case load. 2

In 2000, 1,065 cases of TB were reported in Los Angeles County. This represents a 9% decrease from 1999 (1,170 cases). Of these 1,065 cases, 774 (72.7%) were foreign-born. Foreign-born TB cases were reported from 53 different foreign countries in 2000.

Of the 774 foreign born TB cases, 285 (36.8%) were from Mexico, 127(16.4%) were from the Philippines, 51 (6.6%) were from Vietnam, 49 (6.3%) were from South Korea, 43 (5.6%) were from China, 35 (4.5%) were from Guatemala, and 33 (4.3%) were from El Salvador.

The racial composition of the LAC foreign-born cases consisted of 328 (42.4%) Asian, 17 (2.2%) Black, 390 (50.4%) Hispanic, and 39 (5.0%) White. On the contrary, the US-born TB cases exhibit a different distribution across the races. 123 (43.3)% of all US-born TB cases are Black, 60 (21.1%) are White, 87 (30.6%) are Hispanic, and the remaining 14 (4.9%) are Asian.

In 2000, 458 (59.2%) of the foreign-born cases were male and 316 (40.8%) were female. The Black and White TB cases were distributed fairly evenly across both genders. The gender distribution among Asian TB cases was 56% male and 44% female and 63% male and 37% female among Hispanic foreign-born TB cases, more closely resembling the usual 60-40 trend seen in the general TB population.

The age group with the largest number of reported foreign-born TB cases was the 15-34 year old age group with 245 cases (31.7%), followed by the 65 years and older age group with 178 cases (23%) and the 45-54 age group with 126 cases (16.3%). The Majority of Asian and White TB cases were among the elderly, while the majority of Hispanic and Black cases were among the 15-34 age group.

There were 21 (2.7%) homeless cases of TB among the foreign-born population reported in Los Angeles County in 2000. Nineteen of these cases were Hispanic. Of all homeless cases reported in 2000 (76 cases), 27.6% (21 cases) were foreign born.

In 2000, there were 48 (6.2%) confirmed cases of TB co-infected with HIV among the foreign born; forty-three (89.6%) cases were Hispanic, 3 (6.3%) were Black, 1 (2.1%) Asian, and 1 (2.1%) were White.

Seventy-eight percent (602) of foreign-born cases in 2000 were confirmed on the basis of a positive culture. This is comparable to the U.S. born cases in which 71.5% (203 cases) were confirmed on the basis of positive bacteriology.